Sound Spelling Cards

S-ou-n-d S-p-e-ll-ing C-ar-d-s

Last month, I wrote about the strategy of rereading and its role in creating good readers. As I sat down to write this month’s blog, I started thinking about those kiddos who are struggling to read the first time.  For years, I have taught the intensive Universal Access class and have always been successful in turning those students into readers.  I am a firm believer that I could not do this without the use of the Sound Spelling Cards. Long ago, I abandoned my attempts to get students to memorize phonetically spelled words and instead empowered them to recognize the patterns they see or hear in a word.  These cards are the code to reading, and we must teach our kids how to master the code!

How many times have we heard our students ask “How do you spell ____?” Or “ I don’t know that word.”  Personally, I’ve heard it a lot.  I always answer with “Have you tried the Sound Spelling Cards (SSCs)?”   The English language is full of exceptions, but did you know:

50% of words in the English language can be spelled accurately based on sound-symbol correspondences (SSCs). e.g. best

36% can be spelled with one error on the basis of sound-symbol correspondences (SSCs/HFWs). e.g. from

10% can be spelled accurately when considering meaning, word origin, and morphology (Morphology Board). e.g. geography

4% are true oddities. e.g. yacht

Wow!  These cards are crucial. As a new teacher, I had no idea how important these cards were until I had the task of teaching first graders how to read.  How could I use all learning modalities while teaching reading?  Running the Sound Spelling Cards daily became my solution.  Visual learners are visually seeing the cards, auditory learners are hearing the sounds that correspond to the picture and letters/spelling patterns, and kinesthetic learners have motions for each letter and sound.  Multisensory instruction is a powerful tool for reinforcing early literacy skills.  These cards help with reading, spelling, and writing across all subjects.  On a daily basis, we refer to the cards whether it be for spelling a word during writing or reading a word problem during math. They teach the patterns of the English language so kids can master the language.  I full heartedly believe that it is due to mastery of these cards that my students understand the sound/spelling system, therefore allowing them to be able to decode (read) and encode (spell). When they master the code, the possibilities are endless!

In order to help students learn and master the code, we must incorporate it into our daily routine.  How do we use these cards to their full advantage? Play the video below to see our class in action.

 

How do I post the cards in the classroom?

They need to be accessible to both the teacher and the students.

They need to be within a child’s reach.
I post them:

• in alphabetical order a-z with short vowels.

• with long vowels grouped together.

• vowel pairs grouped together.

• digraphs grouped together.

They may also be posted using the order they are introduced.

How do I introduce the cards?

I prefer to:

• introduce the card based on the spelling pattern being taught in our daily lessons.

• refer to a card if it’s a teachable moment.

How can I use these cards daily?

There is no guesswork for students if teachers are constantly making connections to the cards.

I make sure to:

• run the cards daily.

• refer to the cards when introducing a new word in any subject.

• refer to the cards when introducing a new concept in reading or spelling.     

• refer to the cards for spelling, phonics, and vocabulary throughout the curriculum.

• use during writing instruction.

What else do I need to know?

The back of the card has some great information- articulation, variations for ELL’s, and words for oral practice.  When word building, color coding is a great visual when modeling.  E.g- Black for consonants, Green for short vowels, and Red for long vowels and vowel pairs.  Word building by manipulating the cards is important.I like to-

• practice 3-4 words immediately after running the cards. (present, past, future)

• introduce the first word- “The word is______.”  Students respond with the word (3x’s).  e.g. scratched

• use it in a sentence. The cat scratched me.

• build the word with a partner using whiteboards.

• go over it together and spell the word using the SSCs.

• Break it down and count the sounds. Draw lines for each sound. s c r a tch ed  

• Spell it and stretch the word out. I like to say “like you are stretching a giant rubber band.”

I could go on and on.  The possibilities are endless.  These cards are just such a fun way to get kids reading, spelling, and writing.  Please email me at randi.muehlen@omsd.net if you have any questions or would like to come see my kiddos in action using our cards.  It amazes me daily how important this “magic code” has become to my class. I hope you enjoy the video of some of the ways we use these cards throughout our day.

Positively Teaching,

Randi Muehlen

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randi.muehlen@omsd.net